Recap by phillip woo

O'Halo led comfortably by two lengths for the most part through even fractions and kept finding to score a second win from his past four starts. Excel Oneself tracked the leader one off in second, straightened three deep and shook off a brief challenge from Peri Peri Saffron to secure the Quinella spot. Peri Peri Saffron enjoyed the box-seat run, came one off upon straightening and came up flat inside the final 100m with every chance. Hammered late in betting, Lovely Boy was parked without cover in midfield, swung the final bend with two wider out and kept plugging away to secure a First-4 spot. Elegant Frames settled wore than midfield and one off the rails, straightened four deep and got going late when the race was all but over. Yeung Sing saved ground behind midfield, came two off the fence at the 250m and made a mild bid without menacing. Bernard's Choice came up flat in the final 150m following a midfield run along the rails. Fire Starter was able to slot one off with cover in fourth, rallied five deep upon straightening and failed to lift when popped the question in a disappointing effort. Favourite Winning Boy rounded the final bend with one wider out and never was a factor.

Racing Incident Report

Race Four: (485)-THE EWO CHALLENGE TROPHY (HANDICAP) - Class 4 - 1200Metres

BERNARD'S CHOICE began awkwardly, shifted out and bumped ELEGANT FRAMES.

ELEGANT FRAMES then shifted out, resulting in PERI PERI SAFFRON racing tight inside YEUNG SING and causing both those horses to be inconvenienced.

CHINA POWER and ELECTRONIC GOSPEL made heavy contact at the start, resulting in both horses becoming unbalanced.

Over the concluding stages, YEUNG SING was awkwardly placed inside the heels of PERI PERI SAFFRON.

When questioned, Z Purton stated that he had been instructed to ride LOVELY BOY, from its wide barrier, in a midfield position with cover if possible.

He said he had ridden the horse in a barrier trial in the lead up to tonight's race and on that occasion it had been ridden conservatively.

Trainer C Fownes stated that following its last start when the horse had gone too hard in the lead, he had freshened it up and had given it a barrier trial in the lead up to tonight!|s race.

He said he expected that tonight's race would run at a good tempo with a number of horses drawn on the inside having shown pace in previous races.

He said accordingly he thought that too much use would have to be made of LOVELY BOY in the early stages to cross runners drawn more favourably and were LOVELY BOY not able to show sufficient pace the horse would be left racing wide.

He said because of the anticipated speed of the race he felt that the field may spread out in the early stages which would provide LOVELY BOY with the opportunity of obtaining cover.

He said, in his opinion, whilst LOVELY BOY had been successful in a race when ridden in the lead from an inside barrier, he believes that the horse is not one dimensional and is able to come from off the speed.

He added as it turned out, the tempo of the race was not as strong as he anticipated and consequently LOVELY BOY was left racing in a position three wide and without cover after the 900 Metres.

He said in the circumstances he was very satisfied with the manner in which LOVELY BOY finished off its race which, in his opinion, confirmed his thoughts that the horse is able to come from off the speed in its races and perform well.

He said in the future, depending on the make-up of the race, he would not be reluctant for the horse to be ridden in a similar manner given that it raced well tonight.

Mr Fownes was advised that his explanation would be reported and that the Stewards will monitor the manner in which LOVELY BOY is ridden in the near future.

When questioned regarding his level of vigour, Z Purton stated that in the Straight LOVELY BOY lay in under pressure and he was somewhat restricted in his riding out of the horse in the Straight and particularly over the concluding stages when it got its head on the side and shifted in towards FIRE STARTER on its inside.

He said, in his opinion, he rode the horse as best as he could, given the manner in which it was laying in.

Z Purton was advised that whilst the Stewards accepted that LOVELY BOY lay in over the concluding stages, nonetheless the vigour that he used on LOVELY BOY in the Straight had come under notice and he must, wherever possible, test his mounts in such a manner so as to ensure that it is not open to query.

When questioned, D Whyte (HAPPY HOMING) stated that at the entrance to the Straight he had intended shifting to the outside of WINNING BOY into clear running, however, ELECTRONIC GOSPEL, which was racing to that horse!|s outside, did not weaken as quickly as he anticipated it would and for this reason he was obliged to shift HAPPY HOMING back to the inside of WINNING BOY to continue improving.

He said in advance of HAPPY HOMING, there was a clear run between ELEGANT FRAMES and FIRE STARTER and he directed HAPPY HOMING into this run.

He said as he did this after the 200 Metres, ELEGANT FRAMES initially shifted out and then FIRE STARTER shifted in under pressure and as he anticipated that FIRE STARTER would continue to shift in, he made the decision to commit to a run to the outside of that horse and inside LOVELY BOY.

He added as he committed to this run, FIRE STARTER was then straightened by its rider which resulted in the run between that horse and LOVELY BOY no longer becoming fully available.

He said because of this HAPPY HOMING was then badly held up for clear running for the remainder of the race and was not able to be tested.

Having considered the matter, the Stewards accepted D Whyte!|s explanation.

When questioned regarding the disappointing performance of WINNING BOY, T Angland stated that at its last start WINNING BOY was able to finish off well after it relaxed during the race and obtained the inside runs in the Straight.

He said in contrast, tonight WINNING BOY over-raced and got its head up for a considerable distance in the early and middle stages when awkwardly placed close to the heels of ELEGANT FRAMES.

He said prior to the Home Turn it became apparent to him that he would not be able to obtain inside runs and because of this he shifted the horse to the outside of runners at the entrance to the Straight.

He added after being placed under pressure WINNING BOY did not close off the race, however, this was not unexpected given the manner in which it refused to settle early in the race.

A veterinary inspection of WINNING BOY immediately following the race did not show any significant findings.

A veterinary inspection of FIRE STARTER immediately following the race including an endoscopic examination showed a substantial amount of mucopus in the horse's trachea.

WINNING BOY, O'HALO and EXCEL ONESELF were sent for sampling.